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July 15, 2008, 01:24 PM ET
Hacker Fined After Attack on U. of Pennsylvania Computers
A teenager from New Zealand who helped crash part of the University of Pennsylvania’s computer network in 2006 was ordered to pay the university more than $11,000 but avoided any jail time, in a sentence handed down by a New Zealand court this week.
Owen Thor Walker, 18, a hacker who went by the online name AKILL, pleaded guilty to several charges, including accessing a computer for dishonest purposes and damaging or interfering with computer systems, according to the Associated Press.
The incident, in February 2006, loaded a virus on university computer servers and brought them down.
The court ordered Mr. Walker to pay the university to compensate for computer damage and other costs involved in recovering from the assault.
But at the request of prosecutors, Mr. Walker was not sentenced to prison time. Prosecutors said he had agreed to help them track down other hackers, who used his software to commit crimes such as stealing people credit card numbers and manipulate stock trades.—Josh Fischman
Categories: Legal-Troubles, Security
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